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Columba Comments...
Short reflections written by members of our
congregation
31 May 2009
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Scripture: Acts 2.1-21
Exploration
The theme for our
reading today is “Witness of the Holy Spirit”.
On this day of Pentecost we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy
Spirit on the followers of Jesus.
The original day of Pentecost was a Jewish festival, 50 days after
the offering of the barley sheaf at the beginning of the Passover.
The day was also called the Feast of Weeks (Ex 34.22), as it was 7
weeks after Passover. It marked the end of the barley harvest, so
was also called the Feast of Harvest (Ex 23.16). In the
intertestamental period Pentecost was regarded as the anniversary of
the giving of the Law on Mount Sinai. It is a day of great joy and
celebration.
Luke places the event of the outpouring of the Holy Spirit on this
Feast of Pentecost (Acts 2.1), and so transforms the joyful Jewish
feast to a great Christian celebration. By comparison the receiving
of the Holy Spirit in John’s Gospel happens on Easter Day, “Jesus
breathed on them and said: Receive the Holy Spirit.” (John 20.22)
As Pentecost was one of the three ‘compulsory’ Jewish feasts,
pilgrims from many parts of the middle east would be in Jerusalem
for the festival. The other two feasts were Tabernacles and
Passover.
The imagery Luke uses for the outpouring of the Spirit is similar to
the imagery accompanying the giving of the law to Moses (Ex 19.18),
with wind, fire and thunder. Thus Luke signifies the importance of
the event.
When filled with the Spirit the disciples ‘speak in tongues’. This
phenomenon recurs throughout the Book of Acts as a sign of the
presence of the Spirit in the lives of new concerts, often
accompanied with great joyfulness and prophetic utterance.
The gift is encouraged by Paul, although in the Corinthian community
he has to redress their over enthusiasm in the use of the gift (1
Cor 14).
The outpouring of the gift of the Holy Spirit which is implied in
our baptismal service is made more explicit in the confirmation
service where the bishop says: Strengthen, Lord, your servant name
with your Holy Spirit. Empower and sustain him/her for your service.
So confirmation becomes a kind of personal Pentecost experience.
The Spirit empowers us for ministry. Peter stands before the crowd
and boldly tells the story of Jesus’ death and resurrection and
shows the outpouring of the Spirit was promised by God long ago by
quoting parts of Joel (2.28-32). From this day we see the disciples
enthusiastically and courageously witnessing to Christ.
The Church is primarily a place of healing, reconciliation and hope.
Prayer is central to these.
Questions for Reflection
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A notable change
in the disciples was a great joyfulness, and courage to witness.
Have you had an experience of the Holy Spirit that you can share
with others? What did you experience? What changed for you?
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The gift of
tongues is widespread in Pentecostal churches but we don’t hear of
it much in the Anglican Church. Why is that so?
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In what way is
Pentecost the ‘birthday of the church’?
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The Spirit is the
most neglected person of the Trinity. Is the Spirit a ‘person’ in
your view? What is the Holy Spirit?
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Reflect on the
gifts of the Spirit (1 Cor 12). Which of these are relevant today?
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